knights and curses
by A Pathological Artist
Summary: "One does not simply live in the hands of the ferocious, vicious beast" they said "the beast is unparalleled, with the strength of gods" looking to prove herself she had not expected to be graced with such a curse.
1. Chapter 1

Living in the village of Sethoroth was never easy for Sakura, one orphaned by the ogre war of 1462 had made her homeless for a good year before she took to the apprenticeship of a blacksmith; who was apprehensive with the prospect of a girl proceeding him until she convinced the man without words but rather actions.

she sneaked into his shop after the man had retired after a hard day of work and took too the pile of horseshoes in the corner to the right of a furnace. Having had repaired all of the bent or cracked horse shoes she succeeded in not only impressing the man but agitating him with her insolence.

Enjoying her time in the apprenticeship , she had also found her calling when for the first time, Sakura had met a knight. He was gallant and had an air of confidence. She found herself obsessed with the memory, he feared little and worked under a king whom he pledges loyalty and obedience too. He lived the life of one that was selflessly dedicated to the well being of others.

with the adrenaline high she felt at the thought of her living that life she dedicated her free time too using scraps of metals her master allowed her too use and practiced making swords so that one day she would craft herself the most powerful sword in all the land.

Sakura was not entirely oblivious to the struggle women faced in these times and it hindered her for a very short time for she knew obtaining ones dreams were never easy and to obtain hers she would need to be as brave, selfless, fearless and gallant as any other knight.

Sakura also knew how hard and long she would have to train to achieve a goal so unorthodox to most. She knew what she wanted and she was entirely dedicated to it. So when the master blacksmith had went to bed she trained in the forest where no one would know. These training sessions took a tool on her though for when she begun to train more each night she had gotten as little as three hours of sleep.

This had led to another dilemma of course. She had passed out the fourth day of this routine and after being interrogated by her master days before about the bags under her eyes or the stench from her training. She soon enough told him she had been training in the forest for six months.

He was more accepting then she thought he would be and the tears that she had cried dried. She was glad he did not shun her for her dream or efforts, he was even kind enough to give her a sword to practice with and the 9 year old had flung herself onto the man in a flurry of joy.

Her master did not live many years longer, being at the age of 40 when she met him his bones grew brittle with age and his first heart attack took place then two more after that before he finally passed, leaving Sakura with no where to call home. She had money, but not much.

For a while after her masters death she continued working in his shop before his son came back from another village, his son disliked his father and had moved but took over the shop after his father died. Sakura, of course was not pleased at first but nonetheless handed over the shop to her late masters son.

Sakura, for the first time in nearly seven years was homeless and with nothing but the sword her previous master had given her she packed the little amount she had and left the town to enroll herself to become a knight. She was heading for the kingdom.

For all of Sakura's short life and many before hers the Uchiha ruled the kingdom of fire with an iron fist, they had a dark history but its current ruler Uchiha Madara was one of the more reasonable rulers amongst the Uchiha blood line. And Sakura was only more determined with this thought.

Sakura, despite all of her determination was denied training but as she begged and pleaded a skeptical man went to talk to a superior. Sakura had waited patiently, wiping crocodile tears from her reddened cheeks.

when a man and the advisor of the knights training league stepped through large doors Sakura smiled and straightened her posture, she could sense his confidence and authority rolling off of him, even the way he walked signified him being a knight.

" this is her ? "he asked the advisor, who nodded sheepishly at the man.

" you, do you really expect anyone to take you seriously ? You are a girl and you claim you are prepared for the life of the knight ? You have pink hair and look frail, like a doll. Your skin is pale as if you have rarely seen the sun with no background or reason to capture our interest ." his words fazed me little as I listened, I had worked hard for this. Too hard to give up now.

"give me one reason I should accept you into this training program" his hard black eyes bore into mine and I sucked in a breath. It was now or never. Being a knight is about bravery, I must be fearless.

" I have the bravery of a proper knight, I have trained myself past exhaustion for more then five years and understand what it is to be a knight, giving myself to the king and working for the good of the people. From the moment I met a knight I knew this is what I want to be, this is what is destined of me sir and I will stop at nothing until I get it" I said, surprising my self when my voice came out even and strong, spoken like a true knight. The knight smirked at me with knowing eyes.

"then I suppose I have no other choice, but if you slip up even once you will be booted" my eyes widened and I smiled brightly for the first time since my master died. This was it, what I worked for since the moment I met that knight.

'I'm going to be a knight'


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two  
Word goal 3,000

Stereotypical narcissists and sunny blonds

I knew the road to becoming a knight would be a long wretched, sexist road with blood, sweat and tears put into the mix- but I also knew that every moment I worked to the best of my ability would make my desire for the code of a knight ever more sweet.

I worked for the recognition of my superior officers in order to prove what a girl could achieve and for the most part I succeeded, but there were always those condescending stuck up jerks that took too much pride in what they do. Of course there would be some men who could not pull their heads out of their asses long enough to realize they were not the center of the universe.

Most mornings I worked out nonstop for up to five hours. I ate a large breakfast, consuming all the necessary calories and drinking enough ounces of water, I tried to ensure I drank over half my body weight and moved on to training from breakfast.

we received a new sparing partner ever so often and whenever I never got one where they were ok with the arrangement. Today was one of those days where I received a new partner and that was not good news for my current one had just recently warmed up to me.

Exiting the dining hall my eyes squinted at the sun as it glared down at me, it was almost always hot here, it was not called the fire kingdom for nothing. I was non too ecstatic with the promise of a new partner after all it had always been like this, being discriminated for my gender and working hard to prove herself cause she was hardheaded and refused to let a man insult her so blindly. Although She won their respect every time, it got repetitive having to prove yourself to everyone .

She looked down at the gravel path she walked on until she reached the court yard where they were assigned new team mates where she lifted her head and stepped with pride. She surveyed the knights in training before coming to stand amongst them, she let her hand fall on the handle of her sword, sheathed to her right hip.

The knight who instructed us the majority of our time in training walked onto the courtyard grounds. He had dark, raven hair and eyes so dark they were cryptic and alluding. His name was Fugaku, the kings right hand man who I had met the day I was told I would be denied the training to become a knight, he let me have a chance, and for that I was indebted to the seemingly cold hearted man but yet was truthfully the way a knight is meant to be which pushed me even further in my training.

"today I will be assigning new partners again and as always I will remind you this is for the better good of your path to becoming a knight, if you work hard enough you could empress the king in your final exam and be personally added to his personal guard" I displayed a secret smirk at this, he said this every time we received new partners and yet managed to send adrenalin coursing through my veins like it was my first time hearing it. He begun calling out pairs and I immersed myself with my thoughts.

' I surely hope he isn't mean ' my words thick with an evident sarcasm. It was proven countless times that not a one of my partners had been content or saw me as a partner that would suffice in his ongoing training. They had always assumed me to be weak or princess like with nothing more then the sword in my sheath to threaten them, and even that did little to scare them, they were soon to be knights after all and being fearless came with the package.

Nearly all the men in my class prayed for a place in the kings royal guard for the promise of fame, fortune and extra privileges was something almost every man could be convinced with. I almost jumped out of my skin when I herd my partner's name.

there was no way in hell….. Fugaku paired up the knights in training and for him to partner me up with him ?

Sasuke uchiha.

My eyes widened and I looked straight at Fugaku as if expecting him to burst out laughing as he promised me it was indeed a joke as I hoped.

'but he's Fugaku son' I attempted to reassure my self. ' surely he will have been taught like Fugaku ' I knew all the men I worked with were bad but a boy of the royal line, A PRINCE ? He would be an unbearable menace without a doubt if he were raised by a lesser man. I took comfort in these thoughts but missed the glint in Fugaku's eyes.

* * *

Training with the Uchiha prince would begin tomorrow and I silently prayed my inner reassurances were not all for nothing as I ate at dinner that night after my last spar with my old partner. I knew if the Uchiha prince were like the others he would be much worse but then wondered why Fugaku decided to pair us up to begin with.

"hey are you ok ?" the words hit my ears, pulling me from my thoughts and I looked up from my food into the brightest blue eyes I might had ever seen. I took in the mans appearance and found I did recognize him. He was the son of another high ranking knight. I smiled at him, sensing no malicious intent behind his words.

"I am fine, just lost in thought. Thank you for your concern though" I said as if dismissing him but to no avail he took a seat across from me happily.

"that's good to hear ! I herd you got paired up with that bastard Sasuke today" he said filling me with Dred.

" bastard you say ? " I asked in near desperation.

"yeah ! That guy has a stick up his ass 24/7 ! " He yelled causing me to cringe. The bright eyed boy noticed my shift in mood and grinned.

"don't worry ill protect you from that bastard !" I could not help but smile at him then froze as I noticed who was standing behind him, an aura of murder coming off him. The bright blonde did not seem to notice until the prince spoke.

"what was that, idiot ? " the bubbly blue eyed blonde froze then turned around as the Uchiha prince sat beside him, his tray clattering against the marble table.

"you herd me Sasuke, that's what you get for scaring my friend !" I blinked and glared at the blonde.

"I am not scared ! No knight is to be scared " I declared proudly. The dark haired boys obsidian eyes turned to me, as if teasing me.

" is that so girl, tell me. what are you doing trying to become a knight ? " he asked placing his elbow in the table and resting his chin into his palm. I glared, meeting his gaze head on.

"I'm becoming a knight because it is what I am destined to do. I am to help those less fortunate and protect the kingdom under the order of the king." His eyes gleamed for a moment at my words and I felt a sense of triumph.

"oh so you do not wish to be of the royal guard ?" he asked in almost a testing tone. I shook my head, my short pink locks tickling the skin of my neck.

" traversing the land and discovering new things, new lands. I do not wish for a lavish life like many of the knights to be here. I wish for adventure and the selfless act of sacrifice for the people" the boy hummed at my declaration before he spoke.

" I suppose you are a worthy knight of my skills" he said standing up. " I will be seeing you at training, girl."

" my name is Sakura " I said with a glare. He smirked and nodded.

" of course, sakura " with that he turned and walked away with grace I've seen in very few.

" what the hell was that ! That bastard !" the blond boy across from me said glaring after the man. I laughed lightly. The boy looked at me and his eyes sparkled almost impossibly.

" your so cool !" he declared happily and my eyes widened. " no need to be so kind " I mumbled.

"I'm Naruto and I want to be a knight of the royal guard like my father so that people will know me for being me and not for my fathers strength !" I smiled at him, the boy was charming.

" work for your dream hard enough Naruto and it will come" I told him as kindly as I could. He blushed and nodded at my words .

" I will !" he proclaimed loudly. I laughed at his actions before looking down at my untouched plate and shrugged before eating my cold stew.

* * *

I did not sleep very well that night for I was excited for the first training session with the dark haired man. He was not as bad as I had thought him to be but I had spoken to him only for a short time and only time would tell.

' at least from the looks of it he does seem cool' I thought as I slipped on my undershirt. slipping on my leather shirt along with my tight black form fitting pants and stepping into my boots before taking my sword and strapping its sheath to my right hip. The familiar and conferrable weight brought a smile to my face as I headed out of my living quarters downstairs to the court yard for some exercise.

"Sakura !" I herd the yell of a certain blonde haired boy and turned around to watch him run up to me, dressed in his training gear. The whiskered boy smiled brightly, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the sun, blinding me.

"hey Naruto, you sure are a morning person huh ?"I asked with a light chuckle. Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"everyone except my mom tells me that !"he said with another squinty eyed blinding grin.

" you were about to train ?" he asked, curiously as he noted my lack of armor and I nodded with a shrug.

"just exercises to get my organs going" I told him and he nodded in order to express his understanding.

"can I exercise with you ? " he asked, moving to pull of his chest piece.

" of course" I said and begun my routine, I instructed him to do as I did and guided his movements if he was doing it wrong, he often fell over during the harder positions but by the end of it grew better with maintaining a stance, he easily kept pace with me when we ran around the perimeter of the court yard. It was fun to have someone along side me while working out cause I found Naruto was a good listener and held a conversation with me, Despite the need to define some of my more complex vocabulary words. But beside that, he was understanding and very down to earth, managing to make me laugh at his obscene antics.

Having Naruto at my side made the menacing looks of most of the knights in training almost seem like they didn't exist and I found Naruto was one of the first men arriving here to be so accepting of my gender, surprising me but also confusing me to a great extent until I finally asked him.

" Naruto why are you so cool about me being a woman training to be a knight ?" at this, his pretty face twisted into a frown.

" cause I don't think girls should be held from doing what they want, I know how strong my mom is so I can't be mad about any girl that wants to live out their dream, although I think your really pretty and don't want you to get hurt I don't want to stop you from doing what you love" I gaped at him. My mouth falling open and closed, unable to form a proper sentence to express my attitude to his sheer kindness .

"Naruto I- ah thank you" I managed, a light blush dusting my cheeks as I kept pace with him.

" No problem Sakura !" he yelled enthusiastically, fist pumping the air.

By the end of our work out session we both worked up a sweat. We walked into the dining hall and got our food. Naruto sat down at a table with an exasperated breath of air.

" I feel so sore !" he said loudly, turning a few heads and I found myself smiling at this.

" of course you do, I told you didn't have to do as much as I did and you never worked out that many of your muscles. " Naruto scrunched up his nose. " your so smart Sakura" he mumbled. This elicited yet another smile from me (he seemed talented at this)

"yes well, if you read a lot then maybe you would be as smart as me " Naruto perked up and nodded. " maybe I will, then I could out smart you and be the coolest !" I restrained the urge to face palm and nodded at the enthusiastic whiskered blond as he focused on inhaling his breakfast.

" that's disgusting, dumbass " Sasuke said taking a seat beside the blonde, I quirked an eye brow at him.

" you will have to stop calling me a dumbass when I start reading and get smarter then sakura !" Naruto yelled, enraged. Sasuke scoffed. " you ? Read ? Have you ever read a day in your life ?" he inquired and Naruto's face turned red for a moment.

" of course I have, my mom taught me !" he said.

"Naruto, don't let him get to you " I said trying to calm the angry blonde down he looked at me and smiled with a nod.

" ok, sakura " I blushed and turned my head, hiding my embarrassment, I wasn't used to people listening to me or considering my opinions like that and Naruto was so nice for doing so.

" you should probably eat your food, girl " I frowned turning to glare at Sasuke.

" I told you, Uchiha. My name is Sakura." he smirked and pushed his bangs out of his face.

"ok Sakura, then don't call me Uchiha. Call me Sasuke and I'll call you by your name. its only polite" he said his long lashes moving with his eye lids as he blinked. I rolled my eyes at his words and his insane beauty.

" whatever, Sasuke it is " I said.

" you sure do talk a lot when your around Sakura. Hey bastard, Don't tell me you have a crush on her." Naruto jived, nudging the Uchiha's side. Sasuke glared, pushing the blonde away from him. "shut up dumbass that would be preposterous, I would never Like a girl so barbaric" I laughed, burying my hurt feelings at the insulting remark.

" you say that like your any better (Prince charming ) with that stick so far up your ass it's a wonder you have girls lusting after you" I said, smirking in triumph at the dark look the Uchiha sent in my direction. Naruto burst out laughing and pat Sauke's shoulders in mock comfort.

" she got you there, bastard !" Naruto said as Sasuke swatted his hand off his shoulder, causing the blond to only laugh harder.

* * *

" you loose, say it" Sasuke said as he held his sword in his right hand up against my neck, pinning my left arm behind my back. I released a low growl.

" you're the first I have to ever lose too" I pouted and the Uchiha smirked and released me. I was sweating and plopped onto the grassy floor with a huff.

" of course I am, you're a girl and I am a royal, there is no chance of you beating me in a spar." I glared, swiping at his legs quick enough to knock him over on to his flank, he growled and grasped my ankle, pulling me down as well I yelped as I fell down beside him, onto my back.

"ass" I growled with a glare directed at him.

"whatever 'princess" he teased as he stood up and offered me his hand, I ignored him and stood up on my own. He let his arm fall back to his side.

" princess ? Your more of a princess then me, if I put you in a dress and smeared raspberry juice on your lips you would pass for one." I said as I retrieved my dis-guarded sword from the floor and moved toward him, trying to break through his defenses and hit him, he blocked with a smirk and dragged his sword along the edge of mine, using his strength to his advantage and putting me on the defense, I pushed against the weight he exerted onto my blade before I jumped back, holding my sword to my side as he stood, watching and waiting for my next move.

I was dirty, tired scraped up and sore, but he was almost in as bad of a condition as I was as he came at me again, trying to once again over come me with sheer strength, I dodged his attempt to corner me, I used my own strength to try and knock his sword from his grasp, it flew in the air as I held the tip of my sword before his heart with a smirk. He raised an eye brow as I took my foot and swiped the fallen sword of the Uchiha prince and launched it into my left hand.

"ok, I give." he said, lifting his hands in a show that I had won. I grinned at him in a condescending way and handed him his sword.

"two out of three ?" I asked and at the sight of his smirk I had my answer and once again our swords clashed.

* * *

Thank you for my first review ornamflare ! It helps motivate me to do my best lol.

word count: 3,063


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Those lost and those forgotten

There were always those who were forgotten if lost and always those remembered by many when lost. In our scenario there are ten of these individuals, lost. Some for four some years and some for ten. It was always hard for most when you realize how long you have been gone and that you would never be found.

Knights, from kingdoms all over the world were sent to a curse ridden cave where they were sealed for what they though to be all eternity, these unlucky knights were they best of their kingdom, each a protégé of their generations, sealed and bound by one cursed cave.

All those who herd of this cave believed there was a beast. They were all told that those who entered did not walk out and for the most part these people were right. In most cases no one bothered to search for them, knowing they had failed. All the kingdoms thought that he who defeated the unknown beast made their kingdom the strongest of them all and in an attempt to be the best, the kingdoms sent their best knight to battle with the beast some claimed to wield the power of the of gods.

'foolish they were' thought the golden haired boy as he eyed a rat crawling along the ground of the dark cave. he had been there with the rest of them for seven years now, their magic nor swords worked within this trap that kept them contained .

'there was no beast' only a cage so strong it held the strongest of all the lands and destroyed the memories they build outside of it.

There was a water source but they could not break the cave walls due to a protection spell so strong the proclaimed 'strongest' could not break them. Ironic really, how they built them selves so high that they ended up stranded here because their king ordered it.

' but that's the duty of the knight, to give your life and soul to their king for the sake of their kingdom' they believed there was always a way but for some reason, they could not find it and because of this, they were stuck.

"this sucks…." the knight mumbled as he bit into an apple.

* * *

Kneeling on one knee before a thrown the blonde waited within the room for the one man who commanded him. Ōnoki stepped out in all his short glory as he took his seat at the thrown.

"Diedara, it is your time to prove your worth to this kingdom. Are you prepared to sacrifice your life for your king ?" said wizard lifted his head and grinned.

"of course I am, hm" he said standing up at the flick of his kings wrist." good, I am sure you have herd of the cave where none have returned correct ?" he asked and at the sight of his prized knights head nodding he continued.

"well I have decided to sacrifice you with the trust of the kingdom in you, I believe you will bring me the head of the beast from that cave so that our kingdom may be titled as the best" Diedara flipped his cape from covering his front as he bowed in courtesy to his king.

" I have waited for the day my lord, and am ready to prove my worth to the kingdom of earth" he spoke bravely. Although Diedara was ready to sacrifice his life as his father had long ago he was skeptical of what lied within the cave that so many disappeared inside of. He was also apprehensive about weather or not he was indeed ready to die for his kingdom, although a rational thought, Deidara inwardly felt like a coward for stumbling upon this instance of skeptical thought.

Within the confinement of the hellish cave Deidara felt no sense of cowardly dismay at the thoughts of apprehension he felt the day his fate was seemingly sealed, he knew now that this was hell and that glory was not worth giving up a life of his own for. He never lived his life, he lived his late fathers in order to prove a point to no one but himself for the sake of reassurance.

" Then go, you will leave tomorrow at dawn. Do not return until you have brought the head of the beast." Diedara stood from his bow and nodded in understanding. With that he turned around swiftly disappearing behind the wooden doors of the thrown room with the swish of his cape.

Ōnoki watched after the valiant knight with a dark look on his face, he knew even his best knight would most likely never walk through those doors again.

* * *

Sakura stared out into the prolonged wilderness where her first journey would bring her. She and her companions would scour outside the kingdom walls in search of a plant with healing properties for a wounded knight within the walls of the kingdom.

" Sakura, are you listening ? " turning to look at Sasuke she sighed. " no, I wasn't. I'm anxious to get going " Sasuke scowled at her and turned back to his large map, drawing circles or 'x' marks on the thin paper with his quill.

"if you want to complete this simple mission and become a favorable knight to my uncle then I advise you pay attention." I sighed and mentally agreed with the boy, knowing I wanted to prove some worth to the king in case he would not see me as a worthy knight. With that i focused on the markings he made on the map.

"are the circles where we will be searching for the plant ?" I inquired and at the nod of

his head I observed the circled areas on the map of the land beyond the kingdom.

"have you seen Naruto ?" Sasuke asked, looking up from his work. " I saw him at breakfast but he didn't come out this morning to exercise with me. Sasuke hummed in thought, looking back at the map. I pouted at his habit of keeping his thoughts to himself like this, it was annoying.

"so ? Do you have any idea where he could be ?" I asked finally, breaking the silence. Sasuke did not even look up from his map as he spoke.

" I told him about something the other day, he is probably just shaken up from it" I frowned at him and wondered what could probably shake up Naruto.

"what ? What did you tell him ?" Sasuke sighed in exasperation and rolled up his map.

"my brother was sent to a cave four years ago to kill a beast in this cave, and he never came back ok ? " my eyes widened at the burning hatred in his dark optics.

"Sasuke…. I didn't know. I'm terribly sorry I asked. It must be hard talking about such a thing " he glared at me and then averted his gaze from mine.

" what would you know about such a thing ?" he asked and I felt a surge of pain in my chest at the memory of my late parents. I would not tell him though, already knowing the sadness of loosing someone dear to you…..i remembered the terror of loosing the master blacksmith and the loneliness I felt without him there to help me or comfort me when I felt sad.

" I would know nothing but the helplessness you must feel, knowing you can do nothing…" I answered finally which gained his attention, he looked at me, then scoffed. " lets go find that idiot so we can get going. I smiled, pushing memories of despair deep within the back of my mind. "yeah, lets go"

* * *

It turned out that Naruto had been confused and went to the wrong place to meet up and he did not show up for our exercise routine because he had something to do for his mother on short notice. I felt as if Sasuke was embarrassed but masterfully covered it up, Naruto was himself and I felt better as we set off on our journey to find the plant we required to heal the knight.

During our journey, I could not help but wonder about what Sasuke told me. I did not known he had an older brother and could imagine the pain of loosing him. I would have to do research on this beast when we got back. My grip on the reigns of my steed tightened, my knuckles going white as I looked ahead, eyes on the look out for predators and a specific plant.

" Sakura is this it ?" Naruto asked, clutching a fist full of blue flowers slightly similar to those in which we searched for. "no, their not " I informed him and smiled for the first time since Sasuke and I spoke as Naruto pouted, allowing the blue zinnias to fall to the floor.

"common, were off to the next area" Sasuke said, hoisting himself up onto his horse. I could only imagine how hard it has been on Sasuke, being crowned the heir of the kingdom should Madara not bear a child. It was most certainty hard on the boy, I could tell by his tense demeanor all the time.

I found myself wondering what Sasukes brother would be like, was he up-tight and moody like Sasuke was ? Was he rude and conceited like most Uchihas ? Lost in my thoughts I soon enough found my vision clouded by a certain flower we had come on this voyage for. I took it from an overjoyed Naruto hand and gently paced it in my satchel.

" Awesome job, lets get out of here. I'm starving " I said taking the reigns of my horse into my hands, gripping them before kicking the side of my stallion lightly with my booted foot. Naruto bragged the whole 7 hours back to the kingdom for finding the pesky flower we had obtained. It was amusing to see Sasuke send such heated glares at the blonde haired boy from afar. It also was not too surprising to observe an oblivious Naruto as he was ranting about his achievement.

I grew too fond of the boys company by the end of our training, we had only a few days before the test of strength where we would be declared as knights if we were to pass. To say the least , I was nervous. The kind of restless, panicking, distant nervous. I had Naruto worried because I was so silent with my deep thoughts of the most consuming, unoptimistic depression.

Not long did this spell last before Naruto and Sasuke bombarded me with seemingly cruel remarks and optimistic speeches. I knew Sasuke showed his compassion oddly, his reassurance came out as snide remarks about ones capability in an array of ways, his joy came out as glares or the microscopic blush to his face.

But Naruto was a complete opposite to my dear gloomy friend he was an open book, he was very outward and up in the clouds with the way he thinks while Sasuke; although seemingly apathetic with every situation under the sun. I knew deep down cared in his own inverted, condensed way.

"Sakura you need to stop moping and quit thinking about it !" Naruto had yelled suddenly, tearing me from my realm of thought and single handedly sending me into a new mental frenzy. He was too close fro comfort I noted as he pressed his forehead against mine, stating me down with large optics of Safire.

"s-sorry" his eyes squinted at my fraudulent apology.

" noooooo~~~ don't say sorry ! Just tell me you will focus on something more beneficial to your performance on Monday." he said, flailing his arms in exasperation.

" I didn't know your brain could absorb a word like beneficial or performance" my jaw went slack and fell open slightly at Sasuke's crude insult. I saw the situation escalating quickly when Naruto's head whipped in Sasuke's direction so quick I wondered if he had hurt himself.

"shut up jackass, I'm not stupid. I've been reading more and expanding my vocabulary thanks to Sakura !" If I had not grabbed Naruto by his arms he would have made their verbal fight physical. I sighed, tightening my grip on his wrists enough to pull him out of his childish defense of his mental capacity.

"good, now that you have decided to be the bigger man, lets get to our last session of training before we are declared knights." Naruto brightened up. "that's the spirit sakura ! We will definitely pass the test. I glanced to where Sasuke had been standing to find it barren of his presence. I grew worried but knew he had just went to train.

lately Sasuke had been more likely to verbally assault us then when we had met nearly a year ago. To be honest deep down I felt I knew what would happen if I did not do something but to my dismay I almost tricked myself into thinking it was nothing.

* * *

I had been on my way home from dinner when I spotted Sasuke near the entrance of the stables, his horse trailing behind him as he led it through the grass toward the court yard where an exit to the castle was. I was frozen and my mind reeling, running through scenarios of what I should do before I came to a halt and realized I had to stop him, I knew whatever he was doing was a bad move and I would need to save him from whatever it is I had too.

So with that thought in mind I ran after him only stopping when I could grab his shoulder, stopping him in his path. Turning his head Sasuke looked at me with eyes that spoke volumes. He was leaving on a journey he would give up his life as a knight and as a candidate of the kingdoms leader.

"Sasuke… I'll go" it fell from my mouth without thought, teaching me just how attached I had grown to him and Naruto. His eyes flashed with hope before the cold sheet of a boy with no emotions closed off his emotions. I did not need his eyes to tell what was running through his head, he felt as if he had no choice but to abandon his family for his brother, who he was not even sure was alive.

" you have a choice, let me go. I will bring him home " speaking with such certainty I made it clear I meant it by allowing a smile to grace my face. His lips twisted into a frown." you are weak you could not possibly kill the beast if my brother could not." I frowned at his question of my strength.

" I know you do not mean that, you don't want to have hope, your to self reliant. I of all people would know how it is to be like that." He turned his body toward me as if to make a point. "you are a girl, no girl nor woman could be a knight, get it through your thick head Sakura. You will never be strong enough " At first his words stung but the more his words echoed in my head the less it pained me, I knew that harsh tone, I had that mentality myself at one point after I lost the master blacksmith to the cold hands of death.

I would not be put down though, I would be strong and save those I loves, from either death or the loss of a part of them, I was never able to save my parents or the blacksmith. But if I could help Sasuke from a path of destruction by showing him what lengths I would go to in order to protect him, then so be it. This is why I would prove myself, showing him ultimately not what a girl can do but what extent love will take someone.

"I will be back Sasuke, I will show you" as these words fell from my mouth I knew exactly what I was doing when I knocked Sasuke out, left a note in his pocket and another for the guards that find him on their outpost doorstep.

Surely loosing my chance to become a knight and never being allowed into the kingdom would be worth the hollowness I felt as I hopped on my horse and descended in the direction of the 'X' on the map that was in Sasuke's pocket.

* * *

His eyes cracked open as the sunrays from a window above his cell proved dim lighting within the small space. He quickly realized what had happened the night before, every detail flashing through his head and her last words echoing in his mind, clinging to crowed spaces of his mind, he slowly begin to piece together what she meant, what she would do now that she seemingly took his burden from him.

The young Uchiha wanted to believe in his friend, he wanted to hold on to the words she had spoken when she stole his path away so easily and also gave him the choice he truly wanted, he just needed to know at least someone would give him an answer.

Sasuke would wait how ever long it would take for her to come back, he would trust her word and believe she would indeed be back with bad news or his brother.

" I will be back Sasuke, I will show you" she would give him back the chance to live a life with or without his brother. Sitting up he herd the crumbling of paper within his pocket and pulled out a note which he found was from her.

'good luck on your test' he smirked at her words, he would indeed do his best, knowing there would be some form of satisfaction to come.

Unknown to him, he did not question that there was a chance she would not be back, he seemingly just knew that there was no need for question.

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Welp...that's that. I'm glad i took my time to write this chapter, thanks everyone for your follows and faves, embarrassed that i did not thank you lovely people last chapter for all your support~~

Until next time ladies and gentleman.


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